recourse

American  

[ree-kawrs, -kohrs, ri-kawrs, -kohrs] / ˈri kɔrs, -koʊrs, rɪˈkɔrs, -ˈkoʊrs /

noun

recourses plural

1. access or resort to a person or thing for help or protection.

   to have recourse to the courts for justice.

2. a person or thing resorted to for help or protection.

3. the right to collect from a maker or endorser of a negotiable instrument. The endorser may add the words “without recourse” on the instrument, thereby transferring the instrument without assuming any liability.

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recourse British  

/ rɪˈkɔːs /

noun

1. the act of resorting to a person, course of action, etc, in difficulty or danger (esp in the phrase have recourse to )

2. a person, organization, or course of action that is turned to for help, protection, etc

3. the right to demand payment, esp from the drawer or endorser of a bill of exchange or other negotiable instrument when the person accepting it fails to pay

4. a qualified endorsement on such a negotiable instrument, by which the endorser protects himself or herself from liability to subsequent holders

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• recourses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of recourse

1350–1400; Middle English recours < Old French < Late Latin recursus, Latin: return, retreat, noun use of past participle of recurrere to run back; see recur

Explanation

Recourse is a source of help. If you're failing trigonometry in spite of studying until your brain hurts, you may have no recourse but to hire a tutor. Recourse comes from the Latin word recursus, meaning “to run back or retreat.” People seek recourse from such difficulties as debt, illness and legal woes, so you can think of recourse as the words "retreating from curses" squished together. For the record, though, the cursus in recursus means course, not curse. Actually, no one knows where the word curse comes from. There may be some connection between cursus and curses, but then again, there may not be.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recourse recourses

Havana Docks was left without legal recourse for the seizure, until Congress passed the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, which recognized some potential claims for companies in Havana Docks’ situation.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

Pipoly said he and his legal team were still reviewing the opinion and planned to evaluate what’s left of the claims to see if any legal recourse remains.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

If investors still want to give AI a try for investment advice, there is another thing to consider: They have no recourse if things go wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

They have little legal recourse as photography in public is broadly considered legal.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Now, laid open, she had no recourse but to hurry along the tunnel of her anger, headlong.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

"There is no doubt whatsoever that the bank will fight this case and use all recourses available to it," it said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025

“If they over-excavated, and if they’re not going to do anything about it, what are my recourses? I don’t know.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025

Ms. Rozin warned that the district “will diligently pursue with equal vigor all legal recourses against frivolous litigation.”

From Washington Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

There are few recourses against false lawsuits other than penalizing lawyers for filing them.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2021

Chaucer mentions the irregularity of planetary movements in Boethius also when he says: “and whiche sterre in hevene useth wandering recourses, y-flit by dyverse speres.”

From Astronomical Lore in Chaucer by Grimm, Florence M.

Related Words

• remedy